Feeling Springy

Depsite the fact that we had snow yesterday and the forecast for this weekend calls for more accumulation I am still feeling a little springy. Maybe longing for spring is a better way to put it. So, what else could I do but sew something and subject my little one to trying it on in the midst of cold weather. No worries, she was back in warm clothes in a matter of minutes. I had to bribe her with fruit snacks to even get her to try it on.

It feels funny to say that I am anxious for spring because while the warmer weather would be a welcome change, the rest of the changes that we are headed for are enough to make my head spin. I am fully aware that I am not the first person in the world to have two kids. Yet, I still can’t fathom it. Having the baby here at home doesn’t scare me, the thought of labor and the first month scares that crap out of me. To reiterate how terrified I am here is a list of the things that worry me most…in no particular order.

• Going into labor. I was induced last time so I never had the joy of having my water break on it’s own. But, during my induction my dr actually said that he has never seen so much fluid. I am terrified that this will happen at church in the middle of teaching a class and having to inform 150 elementary kids that Miss Stephanie did not just pee her pants, but rather she is about to have a baby.
• Should I involve Alaina in the birth. She loves the baby shows and sort of knows where the baby comes from. Don’t want to traumatize her but I don’t want to leave her out. There are a list of people who I don’t want in the room during the process. Last time my mom was fasting and passed out when she came into see Alaina and my mother in law refused to leave the room as I was getting stitched up from second degree bilateral tears because my mom was in there. Yep, let that visual stick in your head…spread eagle with your mom passed out on the chair next to you and your mother in law just watching the least glamourous part of the entire birthing process. Aww, memories.
• What if I need a c section? Baby is flipped transverse breech right now which means he is completely horizontal. I don’t know how he is comfortable there he is constantly kicking and punching my sides. The pain in my ribs have subsided but I will take that back if it will get him back in the right position. I had a dream last night that my uterus was like an airline flight and the voice of a flight attendant trying to guide him into the correct position. I don’t want to get into what the flotation devices were but I digress, pregnancy has made my brain mush.
• Europe. Two weeks after the baby is due my husband is going to Europe for two weeks. It has been planned and paid (he is a teacher and is practically going for free!) for almost 2 years. He can’t not go. Who can pass on that kind of a trip and experience? But, I am still really scared of being well enough to take care of 2 kids during that time.

I told you I was a nervous wreck. Yet despite all of my worries I really can’t wait for Sammy to get here. I can’t wait to see Lainey as a big sister. Oh, and how this post originally started…I really want some warmer weather.

The facebook tag that wouldn’t go away

If you are on facebook then no doubt you have been hit by this tag and I thought if am going to exhaust my brain thinking of 25 random facts about me that I would share them here as well.

I have ignored this tag enough and it is apparent that I will continue to be tagged until I complete it so here it goes!

1. I really hate email forwards. I rarely open them and frankly don’t believe I will have bad luck or my friends won’t feel loved if I don’t copy them in a silly email within 5 minutes of opening it.
2. I would drink diet coke only if I could get a way with it. If I win the lottery you better bet I am installing a fountain drink center in my home.
3. When I was pregnant with Alaina, I craved potatoes, pancakes and A1 steak sauce…yes together and I realize that is a disgusting combo now but boy did it hit the spot then!
4. This time I am craving seafood. I see food and I want it. Just kidding, however I have been salivating at the Red Lobster commercials for scallops and shrimp. Which I understand the shrimp but I have never had a scallop so I have no idea why I want to eat one so badly.
5. I have lived in 3 states: Ohio, Utah and Kentucky. I have officially lived in KY the longest now and am just in the past few years can refer to myself as from KY. I held on to my Utah roots for awhile but it is time to accept that bluegrass state as my home.
6. I love board games. But, I am really competitive at them. During a thanksgiving game of phase 10, I think I threw an empty water bottle at my hubby for “throwing me under the bus” Hmm, and I wonder why no one wants to play with me.
7. I went through 3.5 years of infertility treatments to be told that I couldn’t have anymore kids in June of June of 2008 only to find out after being prayed for in September of 2008 I was healed and prengant that same day.
8. I am due May 27 with a baby boy to be named Samuel Nolan.
9. I struggled with self esteem and eating issues during my adolescence which is why I am passionate about working with kids now. God completely transformed my life and my body image and I want kids to know how amazing God created them so they have the tools to get through the tough years knowing how fearfully and wondefully made they are!
10. I love to read. That being said most of my reading now consists of my Bible. I am voracious in making sure I have read every bit of what I am teaching the kids every week several times so I can listen for guidance and be able to answer all of the kids questions. (Seriously, a 10 year old kid asked me last week about the antichrist. I need to stay on top of it!)
11. My ipod is a mish mash of the most eclectic music. You will find pop, rock, oldies,alternative, Christian, Christmas, and even the Wiggles. And yes, I listen to them all.
12. I have flat feet which means I have no arches in my feet. I think God was preparing me to suck at sports from birth.
13. My best friend of umpteen years refuses to join facebook. (I will be posting this list on my blog as well so she can feel her ears burn about it again!)
14. I have a high tolerance for alcohol which is why I don’t drink at all.Too many alcohol issues in my extended family for me to ever take a chance. A wise friend told me once you never know what your demons are so stay away if you think it might be more than you can handle.
15. I am domestically challenged. In fact my parents have always tried to instill in me that the reason for my bad math grades was a direct result of not making my bed. I still don’t get the correlation but I still don’t like to make my bed.
16. I am crafty. I taught myself to knit (not well), crochet, sew and a multitude of other crafts since Alaina was born. I didn’t care about handmade things in the past but since having her I am mildly obessed with her understanding where things come from and an appreciation for craftsmanship.
17. In college I drove a Buick Skylark that resembled a rocket ship. I was supposed to share it with my brother but he thought it was so ugly he refused to even ride in it so I had it all to myself.
18. I can laugh about this now, but in the height of my eating disorder and my family was trying to help me they opened up my trunk only to find months of lunches stuffed in there. I don’t think my mom or brother will ever be able to eat a frozen burrito after retrieving so many of them from my trunk. No worries, if you haven’t seen me in awhile rest assured I am not the skinny minnie I used to be and I eat my burritos now.
19. My husband and I are big kids and can’t think of better vacation then going to Disney World (with or without kids!)
20. I don’t know how I survived in the past without my DVR (tivo) I can now watch all of my crappy reality shows in peace in the middle of the night when no one else can complain. Bravo where have you been all my life? Lol!
21. In high school I hung out with a group of girls that were all blonde. People actually referred to us as the blondes. We have all ended up in different states and incredibly different but I credit those girls with getting me through my high school years in tact.
22. I am a people watcher. But, worse than that I make up scenarios about them in my head of how they must have gotten to that particular situation. My hubby thinks I am nuts to even give strangers a second thought.
23. I despise rodents of all types. If Alaina ever asks any of you why Mommy won’t ler her have one as a pet someday, I fully expect each and every one of you to cooperate and go along with the story that I am allergic.
24. I have a blog that is for the most part now sorely neglected. But, every once in a while I will find something in my life that is worth updating it. http://alittlemoore.wordpress.com
25. I worked at Target throughout college. A part of me still wishes I worked there. I really miss the first dibs on clearance and my discount!

Another day…

Another surgery in my family. Although today it hits a little more closely to home as my husband is set to have shoulder surgery in the morning. All of this physical therapy equipment was delivered yesterday and that was the first time that it really hit me that this was really happening. I know that he has been thinking that I have been the most unsupportive wife as I have only asked questions about cost and arranging work and childcare. It wasn’t that I didn’t care, I really just have all of my defense mechanisms up. Truthfully, I am terrified. Scared about something going wrong, not being able to give him the best care when he comes home. But, tonight it is my job not to become a blubbering mess because that may be what he needs to do and we both can’t be freaking out. But, prayers for a successful surgery and recovery would be appreciated as well as strong wife vibes that I can hold it all together.

My name is Steph and I am a Bake-a-holic

The snow is quickly melting but we have still been in homebody mode. I have baked up a storm in the past few days. It started with birthday cake and normally that would satisfy my sweet tooth. But, I wanted to bake and last night my eyes fell upon our bananas that were quickly getting mushy and lightbulbs were going off in my head. I really couldn’t wait to get home from church this afternoon so that I could get to baking. The princess had pushed her chair to watch me bake and wanted to help. The recipe called for egg which is a no go for Alaina and so I decided to try the egg free replacement that my friend so sweetly sent me last year. This allowed the princess to get in on the action and she turned out to be quite the culinary expert in mixing and mashing bananas. She even added her own special ingrediant.

An hour later we had a warm and gooey chocolate chip banana bread. In the words of the annoying Dora….Delicioso!

Oven is still preheated for the chocolate chip cookies that the dear husband requested. I may need a baking recovery group if this continues all week.

Happy Birthday to Me!

To celebrate my 28th birthday I have complied 28 random facts about myself that will hopefully not scare you all off!

My apologies if the numbers aren’t in order. I am not dyslexic but they are showing fine on edit screen but not on the final draft. But, trust me there is 28!

1. I don’t have a favorite color. Too many wonderful hues to choose just one.
2. I can’t live without Diet Coke. Seriously.
3. I have to have a scented fabric softener. If I can’t smell the clean it just doesn’t feel clean to me.
4. I hate wearing sunglasses because it make me think that my ears are uneven because glasses always sit crooked on my face no matter the style.
5. Embarrassingly, I don’t hate Yo Gabba Gabba. My name is Stephanie, I like to dance. If you don’t have a toddler and haven’t seen this show skip to the next one or you will think I have officially lost it.
6. I have no arches in my feet.
7. I collect Willowtree Angels
8. I have a shelf full of fabric I bought that I know I will never cut into because it is too pretty and I don’t want to mess it up. I would rather let it sit there and inspire me.
9. My whole life I have wanted a chaise lounge and now that I have one I never sit in it.
10. I crack my knuckles and my knees.
11.  50 lbs and many years ago I used to be on a competitive dance team.
12.  I don’t get the whole Myspace/Facebook phenomenon and I don’t even have the desire to figure it out. I did set up an account to search for a few old friends, but apparently they couldn’t get into it either since I couldn’t find any of them. However, I did find out that my cousin is lying about her age on it so I guess I need to keep my account active to keep an eye on that.
13. We have been trying to have another baby for longer than I care to realize. I am incredibly blessed by the princess but I hope to add a sibling for her to our happy little family.
14. I took guitar lessons when I was in middle school, sadly the only song that I have memorized when I pick up a guitar is “Dust in the Wind”
15. I have always wanted a tattoo, but I am a total wuss and would never get one.
16. I did have a moment of rebellion and got my belly button pierced when I was a teenager. I took it out when I got pregnant and ended up with stretch marks in the shape of an X over the hole. I think that was my punishment for sneaking off to do that without my parents permission.
17. My favorite ice cream is Edys/Dreyers Slow Churned Chocolate Ice cream. I am a total ice cream snob with this one. Can never go back to generic ice cream again!
18. I don’t post about half of the crafty projects I do because I am too intimidated by the how amazing some of the masters of craft are and feel mine just pale in comparison.
19. I made and sold hair bows and tutus for a year and that allowed to stay home with the princess for a year when I was unexpectedly laid off. However, I made so many that I developed an aversion to tulle. If I ever work with it again it will be too soon.
20. I love to read but my time to read is slowly being replaced by my love of blogs. Darn those bloglists that keep me clicking!
21. I have a secret desire to be on What’s not to Wear. I seriously need their help as I don’t think my favorite t shirt in ever color as being stylish. Other than my hot mamas shoes. Now, those are hot.
22. My grandpa was an amazing artist and could draw and paint anything and I am so disappointed that I didn’t inherit any of his talents.
23. I am scared of losing weight even though I definitely need to. I have done some pretty disastrous and unhealthy things to my body to lose weight and now that I don’t know how to lose weight without getting carried away with it so I have been avoiding it.
24. My mom named me after a girl that used to beat her up and steal her lunch. My mom said she always felt bad for her and ended up packing up two lunches so Stephanie wouldn’t beat her up. She said she always saw something good in her despite her being mean. I don’t know what she expected me to end up as given the names history but I hope I have proved to have something good in me despite my flaws as well.
25. In the age old dessert battle of cake vs. pie. I would have to side with my Dad and choose pie. Click for my decadent apple pie recipe!
26. I have always been nervous about getting my hair cut and now that I found a great stylist I am itching to get my hair cut all the time. Shout out to Tammi in the words of Sharpay…you are FABULOUS! (yes, I work with kids all the time so I often have to speak in High School Musical speak and embarrassingly here as well I didn’t hate watching that either!)
27. I have always round up on my age so turning 28 doesn’t feel like a big deal since I have said I was 28 for the last year.
28. I have April 10 marked on my calendar for one reason. The return of The Office

I have a confession….

I am a closet Paula Abdul fan. There I said it. I realize that some of you may never want to visit my little blog again as you are questioning my overall taste. But, in my defense I have very fond memories of my “straight up now tell me” days. When I was younger, I desperately wanted to be her to the point that when I was in the 4th grade, I choreographed and made my friends learn dances to all of her songs in hopes of making it on Star Search. Don’t hate, you know you all had secret addiction to the beloved Ed McMahon! Up until a few years ago I had slight resentment of my mom for not sending in our videotaped dance numbers in to old Ed, that was until I saw how silly we looked and I would like to publically apologize to my mom to say that I am over it.

However, my love for Paula Abdul music continues and I can’t get into her Bravo show “Hey Paula” as it pretty much just ruins my childhood idolization of her and although some of her comments on “American Idol” make me cringe. But, my heart still went a little aflutter to see her comeback before the Superbowl last night.

Laugh at me, indulge me with your guilty muscial pleasures but please don’t desert my blog forever in fearing I have lost my credibility. I promise to redeem myself with future projects!